Original Greek

ΠΡΟΚΛΟΥ ΔΙΑΔΟΧΟΥ - ΣΤΟΙΧΕΙΩΣΙΣ ΘΕΟΛΟΓΙΚΗ

(13.) Πᾶν ἀγαθὸν ἑνωτικόν ἐστι τῶν μετεχόντων αὐτοῦ, καὶ πᾶσα ἕνωσις ἀγαθόν, καὶ τἀγαθὸν τῷ ἑνὶ ταὐτόν.

εἰ γὰρ τὸ ἀγαθόν ἐστι σωστικὸν τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων (διὸ καὶ ἐφετὸν ὑπάρχει πᾶσι), τὸ δὲ σωστικὸν καὶ συνεκτικὸν τῆς ἑκάστων οὐσίας ἐστὶ τὸ ἕν (τῷ γὰρ ἑνὶ σώζεται πάντα, (5) καὶ ὁ σκεδασμὸς ἕκαστον ἐξίστησι τῆς οὐσίας), τὸ ἀγαθόν, οἷς ἂν παρῇ, ταῦτα ἓν ἀπεργάζεται καὶ συνέχει κατὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν.

καὶ εἰ τὸ ἓν συναγωγόν ἐστι καὶ συνεκτικὸν τῶν ὄντων, ἕκαστον τελειοῖ κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ παρουσίαν. καὶ ἀγαθὸν ἄρα (10) ταύτῃ ἐστὶ τὸ ἡνῶσθαι πᾶσιν.

εἰ δὲ καὶ ἡ ἕνωσις ἀγαθὸν καθ’ αὑτὸ καὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἑνοποιόν, τὸ ἁπλῶς ἀγαθὸν καὶ τὸ ἁπλῶς ἓν ταὐτόν, ἑνίζον τε ἅμα καὶ ἀγαθῦνον τὰ ὄντα. ὅθεν δὴ καὶ τὰ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τρόπον τινὰ ἀποπεσόντα καὶ τῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς ἅμα στέρεται μεθέξεως· καὶ τὰ (15) τοῦ ἑνὸς ἄμοιρα γενόμενα, διαστάσεως ἀναπιμπλάμενα, καὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ στέρεται κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον.

ἔστιν ἄρα καὶ ἡ ἀγαθότης ἕνωσις, καὶ ἡ ἕνωσις ἀγαθότης, καὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἕν, καὶ τὸ ἓν πρώτως ἀγαθόν.

E.R. Dodds English Translation³

Every good tends to unify what participates it; and all unification is good; and the Good is identical with the One.

   For if it belongs to the Good to conserve all that exists (and it is for no other reason that all things desire it); and if likewise that which conserves and holds together the being of each several thing is unity (since by unity each is maintained in being, but by dispersion displaced from existence): then the Good, wherever it is present, makes the participant one, and holds its being together in virtue of this unification.

   And secondly, if it belongs to unity to bring and keep each thing together, by its presence it makes each thing complete.  In this way, then, the state of unification is good for all things.

   But again, if unification is in itself good, and all good tends to create unity, then the Good unqualified and the One unqualified merge in a single principle, a principle which makes things one and in doing so makes them good.  Hence it is that things which in some fashion have fallen away from their good are at the same stroke deprived of participation of unity; and in like manner things which have lost their portion in unity, being infected with division, are deprived of their good.

   Goodness, then, is unification, and unification goodness; the Good is one, and the One is primal good.


Background

Dr Stephen Daitz¹ spent his lifetime studying classical languages and their pronunciation, and one of his specialties was Attic Greek.  He even had produced a short and accessible course (with recordings) teaching how to pronounce it, based on all available research to date.

In early 2008 I was considering learning Attic Greek so I could read Plato. But I wanted to do it in the more usual, natural and immersive way we learn languages, in a way Paul Pimsleur the great American linguist would have approved of.

Well aware this was a "dead" language, and that it was difficult to even know for sure how it had been pronounced, but also aware that Adamantios Korais had revived it (albeit in hybrid form, known as 'katharevousa') for large numbers of Greeks in the 19th century (although years later it came to be associated unfortunately with some very negative Greek national politics), I went looking for any help I could find.

This is when I found out about Dr Daitz and his pronunciation research.  After hearing some of his online samples and course, I decided to ask him whether he would be willing to make a recording of Proclus' 13th Proposition, from the Elements of Theology, using the Attic pronunciation². He graciously agreed, if I would provide him with the original Greek text, and a translation.  I sent him the Dodds Greek and translation³, and also a translation of Barbara's (from our own NS). A few weeks later, I received from him a CD with his recording of it.  What music to my ears!  What elation filled my soul!

As I had explained to Dr Daitz, I originally intended to not only practice it for my own edification, but also to memorize and reproduce this particular passage for Pierre in front of the NS.  Though I have still not yet done so (!), Dr Daitz's recording itself is nonetheless so beautiful to hear (and uplifting -- unifying! -- to contemplate) that Barbara recently encouraged me to post it.   Dr Daitz has since passed on, but I would like to say: Thank you again, Dr Daitz!

JS 9 Aug 2017

1 - City University of New York; City College of New York, USA

2 - Probably after the 840 some years that separated the two men, and the widespread popularization of the simplified Koine, the pronunciation of Greek in Proclus' time would have diverged markedly -- even in Athens -- from the Attic spoken by Plato.  But still: would Proclus himself have preferred to hear his Elements read aloud in the original 5th century Attic?  I think so!

3 - Pages 14-17 of Proclus - The Elements of Theology: A Revised Text, translated by E.R. Dodds. Original Published by Oxford Clarendon Press (1963,64,71), ISBN 10: 0198141602 ISBN 13: 9780198141600; Later edition published by Oxford University Press, USA (1992), ISBN 10: 0198140975 ISBN 13: 9780198140979 ([AbeBooks.com])


More info: http://noeticsociety.org

Image Candle courtesy of Flickr user Shawn Carpenter under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license when downloaded on 2017-08-11.

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